Facilitating Web 2.0 Communication - Week 2

Week 2
This week I was able to really focus on trying to see how Twitter can be used as a tool for me as a teacher. What I like about Twitter is that I have a regular group of people whose opinions I have come to find interested and valuable to me as a teacher. I have really begun to enjoy checking in each evening to see if any of the people I follow have posted new material or resources for me to read or use.

I have not yet found the confidence or motivation to send out my own personal comments on Twitter. I have passed on material that I have read from others, but I have found myself unable to send out personal comments on things I have observed. Being new to this type of interaction I just feel like people couldn't possibly be interested in what I have to say. As I type this I know that isn't necessarily the case and that I'm missing the point of being involved in these new larger more inclusive social webs. I just haven't been able to adjust my mindset for interactions yet.

I also think my concern is that I want to keep my Twitter account primarily something that is related to my professional life and I'm uncomfortable sharing things that are personal for fear that it could transform into something like my wife's Facebook account. I'm not interested in whether or not someone is watching TV right then, or eating waffles, or putting their child to bed, so I have become hyper sensitive about posting anything too personal. I'm sure I'll be able to find a balance.

One person in particular that I have enjoyed following is a teacher who uses Twitter as part of a class and seems to have found a balance between offering them resources that he finds interesting, promoting their work, seeking out assistance for them, and at the same time commenting on football games or a TV show he is watching. I could see this being a great tool to help connect with students and at the same time push them to explore new material and engage really in their own learning. There is plenty to be skeptical of with Twitter and 7th graders, but I really liked using it myself and I can see the possibilities, perhaps more so than some of the other social networks that are out there.